“You’re a misfit.”

My parents are Thai but my grandparents are Chinese and I was raised in an english-speaking environment.
Sometimes it just seems unnatural, well… most of the time actually. As I grew up, I started realising the differences
between myself, a third-culture kid, and my friends. I followed the trend of dying my hair and was celebrating three
New Years annually, each of which I wore completely different outfits. None felt like it was the right fit.
This sense of alienation is presented in this illustration-based mixed media artwork. Despite the monster arm’s
seeming comical and lighthearted, it represents my childhood fear of not being understood and isolated as a result
of being different. I chose to put myself in the spotlight to put emphasis and depth to the whole piece.
However, the intended colour pink acts as a double edged sword as it also has negative connotations of
my lack of self-worth. Now that time has passed, I gradually stepped out of this fear and began embracing my multicultural self.
And I hope that other kids like me would too. Through this capture of my childhood fear I want to show the
viewers that feeling “different'' is a universal experience and that breaking uniformity is never to be ashamed of.
Breaking uniformity is what makes you special so take your spotlight and shine!